Special Edition: Games to Play When You're Bored
Top 10 Games to Play When You’re Bored - Part 1
Editor’s note: Part two is now up.
Boredom. It can strike even the most hardcore gamer. It happens to the best of us - sitting on the couch, staring at the consoles and gaming pc, pondering which game to play. Shooter? Racing? MMO? Strategy? Whatever the choice, it’s got to be a good one, promising hours of entertainment and replay value. Here at Gamer Discord we strive to ease the pain and suffering and list ten great standby titles to play when boredom strikes. Make sure you add your favorites in the comments and we will create a user-generated list in the coming weeks.
Left 4 Dead
If there’s one thing we’ve learned about zombies from years of gaming and watching movies, it’s that zombies really aren’t that scary. They’re painfully slow and dumb as hell, and while they look ugly, they can’t inflict any serious damage. That’s simply not the case with the zombies in Left 4 Dead.
With Left 4 Dead, Valve has taken the zombie apocalypse genre and has done something nobody saw coming. Valve created a zombie game that will keep you on the edge of your seat throughout the entire game. Admittedly, we weren’t on the edge of our seats - we were standing 3 feet in front of the TV, shouting into the microphone, yelling at our teammates to focus their fire on the tank chasing us all over the screen. Of course, this was just in the spirit of cooperative play which is, after all, Valve’s primary objective in Left 4 Dead.
The game’s story revolves around four humans who are somehow immune to the zombie virus and are desperately trying to carve their way through the undead hordes using any weapon they can get their hands on. You and three of your friends get to take control of these humans, and try your best to keep them alive as you travel from safe room to safe room.
Bored of being the good guy all the time? In Left 4 Dead you can opt to be one of several different kinds of special zombies, such as the aforementioned tank. As a zombie, you hunt down the human heroes, whether they’re player or AI controlled, and use your special attacks to shred them to pieces. Boredom isn’t a threat while playing this intense zombie slaughterfest. Stay tuned in late April for Xbox 360 and PC DLC.
Halo 3
If you haven’t played Halo 3 yet, you’ve either been hiding under a rock for the last year and a half (maybe from the Left 4 Dead zombies?) or you’re one of the people who haven’t tried it yet under the assumption that any game selling more than 9 million copies must be a fad. Whatever your reason is, it’s time to take a step back and look upon Halo 3 with fresh eyes.
Halo 3 is an epic science fiction first-person shooter that picks up right where Halo 2 left off. Halo 3 caps-off the series, feeling much more polished than its previous instalments. With near-perfect attention to detail, a mood-perfect musical score, and a fully developed AI, Halo 3 proves again to be the preeminent shooter on the console. However, you don’t play the game just because it looks pretty, you play it to get your adrenaline pumping. Add in the satisfaction of sticking your best friend with a plasma grenade from across the map and you have a solid experience.
Whether you play games for the single-player experience or intense multiplayer action, Halo 3 won’t leave you wanting. You can play through the campaign mode with up to three other people, or you can turn to fighting each other across Halo 3’s oft-copied online matchmaking system. Halo 3 offers a solid single-player experience, but where the game really shines is in multiplayer mode. With three sets of DLC and Forge, Halo 3 offers hours upon hours of replay value.
Empire: Total War
We’ve been playing the Total War games for a long time now. When the series was first introduced in 2000, the terrains had little geometry and troops were simply animated 2D sprites. The series has come a long way since then, and Empire: Total War is currently the marquee title of Creative Assembly’s Total War franchise. The game is a combination of top-down civilization-style strategy and full-scale warfare that simply has no comparison.
The recently released Empire: Total War has already garnered significant media attention and positive reviews. The game deserves the critical acclaim it’s receiving because of its evolution into a war game that puts you in charge of thousands of men, each of whom you can zoom in on and watch fight for himself. The scale of battles match up solidly with historical events and let’s players command full armies set in the war-torn 18th century.
A new addition to the Total War franchise is the inclusion of fully playable sea battles. While nowhere near as refined as land battles, ship-to-ship combat does add a new layer to the gameplay mechanics and should excite fans of the series. If piloting 18th century frigates does not grab your attention, the option remains to auto resolve the battles.
The mechanics that govern how you maintain your empire are greatly improved from previous Total War games. Instead of micromanaging each city, Creative Assembly added a feature where you can set tax rates for your entire empire with a single click. Overall the new feature set makes the series more accessible to newcomers to both the series and the strategy genre. With multiple factions, differing victory conditions and a robust multiplayer, Empire: Total War is sure to please strategy enthusiasts for months to come.
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Easily one of the most acclaimed series ever, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare pushed the franchise further into the lexicon of first-person shooters. With a sharp departure from the backdrop of World War 2, Modern Warfare takes you into a modern setting, battling separatists in the Middle East and an ultra-nationalistic party in Russia.
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare features an engrossing story alongside memorable missions that include manning the weapons of an AC-130 gunship and probably the best sniper mission ever created in a video game. Infinity Ward loaded the game with details that make the weapons and locations look and feel like their present-day equivalents. Boasting impressive cinematics and scripted events, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare’s single player immerses players from start to finish.
Perhaps more than any other area, Modern Warfare shines in its multiplayer action. The game features a unique RPG-style system of upgrading weapons and levelling. As you rack up kills with each weapon, you unlock additional parts and features specific to that weapon, such as a grenade launcher, a grip to reduce recoil, and sights to improve aiming. If your aim is deadly enough, you can go on to attain differing camouflage patterns on the gun by getting a set number of headshots. Once you reach the highest level, that’s not the end of the line. You can choose to prestige through 10 levels, offering hours upon hours of replay value.
With its spectacular gameplay, multiple multiplayer challenges, and 10 levels of prestige, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare will keep you busy for months to come–until Modern Warfare 2 comes out.
Killzone 2
For years critics and gamers alike have criticized the lack of quality titles on the PS3. Early last year marked the turning point with titles that included Metal Gear Solid 4, Resistance 2 and Little Big Planet. Sony looks to continue its success with the recently released Killzone 2, which after riding years of hype, has emerged as the premiere title for the PS3.
First thing you will notice when you launch Killzone 2 is the graphics. Boasting one of the most impressive lighting engines to date, Killzone 2 stands head and shoulders above other comparable games to date. If you’ve been waiting for the right game to come along to show off the PS3’s powerful hardware, this is it.
Killzone 2 isn’t just a pretty package; the gameplay contains everything you’d expect out of a modern-day first-person shooter. While the controls do have a learning curve, it’s not a deterrent of the overall game. Weapon design is polished and the in-game mechanics create situations where one is more useful than the other. In addition to the weapons, levels are well thought out with impressive cut scenes tying the action together.
For next-generation consoles, multiplayer is where the true action resides. Killzone 2 offers a distinct multiplayer experience, combining multiple game types into one match. Offering up to 32 player matches, multiple classes and numerous perks, the action is sure to be frantic. With recently announced DLC, the PS3 has finally found an answer to the stable of Xbox 360 shooters in Killzone 2.
Overall, each of these titles offers months of gameplay, be it with their impressive single-player experience or their expansive multiplayer option. Still Bored? Stay tuned in the coming days as we add five more games, ranging from Burnout Paradise to World of Warcraft. Feel free in the comments or on twitter to add the titles you play when boredom strikes.
Editor’s Note: Part Two
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April 12th, 2009
Nice article.
Multiwinia is a great time-waster. It’s cheap, and you can easily play a round for 10 minutes or longer. It’s incredibly addictive, has multiple game modes to play.
Quake 3 is an old one that I often play when I just want to play something for a little while.
April 12th, 2009
Great list !
I finally took the step and bought empire total war thanks to reading this. I hope its good !
Quake live is a great game to play when feeling board.
April 12th, 2009
Ah, darn you, SamUK! I was just going to say that Quake Live would be a nice addition to the list
Great article
Once again makes me wish I had a PS3 (Killzone 2)…
April 13th, 2009
good list. one game you should consider is:
supersonic acrobatic rocket powered battle cars
easy to learn fun to play and extremly addictive
April 13th, 2009
[...] Original post: Top 10 Games to Play When You’re Bored - Part 1 - Gamer Discord [...]
April 14th, 2009
Being a huge fan of Strategy games i am wondering why the Strategy Games aren’t mentioned here they are the most time killers and take several hours.
April 14th, 2009
Hmm, thanks for listing this game… I need this so much..
April 16th, 2009
Very nice.. keep on it :)D